Deferred but Not Denied

 

 

Chanel Abrams – cbn.com

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 NIV)

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

For years I dreamed of working as a makeup artist for CBN.

You see, my Christian faith is infused into every fiber of my being. This proved to be a challenge on some of the sets where I found myself and I was constantly monitoring my conversations to be sure not to offend anyone by speaking of this Jesus who I love so much.

But how could I keep quiet about His goodness towards me? The fact that I’m even able to perform the tasks that I do with my hands is a miracle in and of itself. I’ve never had any formal training or been to school for my craft. My hands have been blessed by the Master.

Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time before I mentioned the name of Jesus and was being pulled aside with a stern talking to regarding discussing religion on the set.

On the heels of my fourth rejection I was feeling defeated. I doubted my skill level and abilities. On top of that, there were several instances on the set with other artists where they spoke negatively about me when they thought I wasn’t listening.

One night while searching through social media, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to search “makeup artists” and “CBN.” An artist who had worked for CBN came up. I sent her an email explaining my story and she informed me that she wasn’t able to help me at that time. But sometime later she contacted me with the news that CBN was seeking an artist for the Washington, D.C., bureau! I submitted my application that day. Shortly after that I would receive a phone call for an interview, an audition, and then an offer of a position as makeup artist with CBN. Wow! How amazing!

If you are reading this with a dream that may be deferred, let me encourage you: God hasn’t forgotten about you. I honestly wanted to give up at times. But the race isn’t given to the swift or to the strong, but to the one who endures until the end. Amidst obstacles and disappointments, stand strong knowing that in due season you will reap (Galatians 6:9).

Healing Exposure

 

By Annie Yorty, Crosswalk, com

“Let all who fear the Lord repeat: ‘His faithful love endures forever.’ In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free” (Psalm 118:4-5 NLT).

“Ewww.” I scrunched my face at the sight of fat, juicy earthworms littering the path to my mailbox. Too lazy to go back inside the house for shoes, I tiptoed around them, wary of touching the wriggling invertebrates with my bare feet. A drenching rain after a hot, dry spell had floated the worms to the surface seeking oxygen. Now the July sun blazed overhead, quickly heating the pavement and baking the slimy creatures. An hour later, most of the worms lay shriveled and dying on the sidewalk. Only a few escaped the carnage wrought by the sun. Those creatures from the mud remind me of things hidden in my life—past wounds and sins I’ve buried—that resurface during stressful times.

Wounds burrow into our lives from our earliest days—cutting criticism from a teacher, a bully’s insults, parents who split up, a father who abandoned the family. I have a friend whose beloved grandma died when he was ten years old. No one helped him understand his grief, so he stuffed his loss deep inside. Another friend cannot escape the echoes of her older brother’s jeers about her appearance. Children display remarkable resilience because they often absorb and normalize these painful events. We assume all is well because they seem to move on, but their wounds lurk in the dark.

Adults also bury hurts. Rifts in relationships, being passed over for a promotion, rejection, and many other wounds and sins litter our lives. Wounds usually come from the poor choices of others. But what about the pain we inflict in the form of both unconscious and deliberate sins? Left unconfessed, these also dig into our lives and find lodging.

God warns about how bitterness demoralizes us when wounds and sins remain under the surface, unexposed. “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many” (Hebrews 12:15 NLT).

Did you catch that? Bitterness troubles you and corrupts others. But this verse also offers hope—the hope that God’s grace overcomes every awful effect of bitterness. God’s grace comes in many surprising forms. Sometimes it washes over us like a soft rain gently nourishing the earth. Other times, we find His grace in the middle of flashing lightning and cracks of thunder.

Just as a driving rain floats worms to the surface, so too the stresses of life bring out lingering bitterness from painful wounds or sins. I confess this is true in my own life. I skip along my path happily ignoring some old problem I’d rather not address. Sooner or later, though, stress triggers me to lash out according to my past, unresolved hurts. My “worms” lay exposed on the sidewalk of my life, ready for the light of God’s grace.

Maybe you, like me, have chafed at the discomfort, embarrassment, or regret you feel when God exposes issues we’ve carefully hidden. Have you considered that God, in grace and mercy, may be using your circumstances to push them out from underground to shine His healing light upon them?

Though God’s intense light glares painfully, exposure is the first step toward true healing. In Ephesians 5:10-11 NLT, Apostle Paul advises, “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.” God’s light of grace shrivels bitterness that has grown fat in darkness until it can no longer tunnel back underground.

Why not cooperate with God when He allows pressure-filled circumstances to uncover what’s wriggling under the surface of your life? Begin by thanking Him for the grace of struggles that reveal your slimy worms. Then settle yourself under His examination light while it burns up any bitterness your circumstances revealed. Praise Him as He clears away dried-up carcasses from the past, so they no longer control you. Finally, revel in the freedom to walk barefoot without tiptoeing around the worms of the past.

Every Tear Will Disappear

 

 

Charmain Hibberd, cbn.com

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

He has also set eternity in the human heart… (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I was listening to a song recently called “Getting Ready” by Maverick City Music. The song has exquisite lyrics in it that paint pictures of Jesus’ return — His coming on the clouds, returning for His Bride, the church.

Honestly, the song and the imagery that it conjured up in my mind caused me to become very emotional as I realized that I do truly long to see Jesus, face to face. My Savior. My love.

The Bible tells us that God has placed eternity in the human heart. This means that, until we reach our final destination of heaven, there will always be a longing in us. Perhaps even a discomfort or ache.

Nothing that this world can offer will ever come close to the eternal joy we will experience when we reach heaven. The world can offer us only so much by way of pleasure, relief, and comfort. Often, worldly experiences cause us pain and heartache as imperfect people live amongst other imperfect people.

But another promise in the Bible is that all that pain, sorrow, and grief will be wiped away. Gone forever. How wonderful!

If you are in a season of testing or trial, may I encourage you that once you have surrendered your life to Jesus, you have an eternal destiny that will far outweigh anything you could ever dream of.

I do not know what heaven will be like any more than the next person. But what I do know is that the promises in the book of Revelation are magnificent and that our good, good Father God will not disappoint us.

We will not have journeyed this Christian life in vain.

Prayer: Father, as we look ahead, getting ourselves ready for Your return and longing for the day when we get to see you face to face, I pray that You will help us to tread this narrow path with honor, integrity and authenticity. May we never forget that we have a heavenly inheritance waiting for us and may we make it our life’s work to glorify Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Door of Love

 

 

 

Gloria Azanon - Prayer Line Representative - CBN Guatemala

 

Walking through a lush forest, listening to singing birds, the sound of rushing waters, and feeling the soft caress of the sun’s warmth on my face, I meditate on love.

But what is love? Some say that it is a living feeling, wishing for everything good, something intense—not palpable, but perceivable.

Incredibly, every person needs that manifestation of love. God is the essence of love—pure and perfect, with the greatest acts of faithfulness and kindness without limits, all of which the human mind fails to grasp. Jesus is God’s expression of love.

He doesn’t care what sinful path you may have been on, or how many times your feet may have slipped, or how dirty your clothes are. The Bible speaks of a woman who had a reputation as a sinner. She knew that Jesus was at a certain Pharisee’s house, and she showed up uninvited, threw herself at His feet, and wept. Jesus forgave her sins, giving her a new opportunity. As the Apostle Paul writes:

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2-3 NIV)

The Lord speaks of a change of life and of being filled with His love, which covers sins and casts out all fear. We sometimes allow our faith in God’s love to be clouded by fear. As you read this devotional, As we come to God in worship, we can express how we feel and be honest about what is going on in our hearts. God’s love always renews and transforms us:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

At CBN Guatemala, we serve and pray for all the people who call on us every day. We understand the manifestation of the love of Jesus and that He is knocking at the door of each one of their hearts. Some accept and others reject the love of the Lord because of deception and sin. Prayer opens a door of communication with Jesus and gives Him the opportunity to enter lives. And then we experience forgiveness and mercy. People who have been healed, set free, and restored testify to the faithful love of Jesus, who called them to His marvelous light. It is a glorious time because the door is open for everyone who believes in Jesus and needs His love!

Jesus holds out His lifelines of love and mercy to you. If you would like to respond, I invite you to pray this prayer with me:

Stay Free of Stinking Thinking

 

 

Angela Mays – Partner Development Specialist, cbn.com

I grew up in a low social-economic community. Life was hard during those years. My father was the only bread-winner and my mother was a homemaker. My father worked hard to provide for his family. It was difficult financially during those days with a large family. Nevertheless, in comparison to others, I always felt we were slighted by God.

My thoughts about God were so negative. I felt He was prejudiced and cared for others more than He cared for me and my family. Compared to others, I felt we should have had better things in life. I thought God was a respecter of persons and races. I believed God loved others more than He loved me.

When I was older, I had an opportunity to visit Haiti on a mission trip. While riding through certain areas of the city, I observed the living conditions of some of the people. Some lived in homes made with straw or other man-made materials without a solid foundation and some lived within wooded areas. I wept during the entire trip because this was a great awakening for me. After seeing all of the poverty in Haiti, I recognized that all these years of growing up I had developed “stinking thinking.”

This missions trip helped me understand there is always someone who may be worse off. God loves the Haitian people as much as He loves me. I was comparing myself with others, not recognizing God’s many blessings for my family. We had more than enough compared to what I experienced in Haiti.

He has always proven to be faithful. My thoughts about God have radically changed since my mission trip to Haiti and as I grew older I understood God was no respecter of persons. He is a respecter of faith. I remembered the countenance on those families was joyous because they had love and each other. Material things do not make a family, but love and unity do; and even when we did not have a lot of material things, we had lots of love.

So when the enemy tempts you to compare yourself with others and think negative thoughts that God doesn’t care or is not listening to you, begin to reflect on the good things God has done for you and praise Him. Then the light will burst through your darkness and the glory of God will shine on your situation.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.” (NKJV)

When we think on the good things God has done, the joy of the Lord will arise in our hearts and thanksgiving on our lips. The peace of God will rest in our hearts. Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 when those negative thoughts begin to attack your mind:

“… casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, …” (verse 5)

There are sinister forces that seek to destroy us, but we must allow the Holy Spirit to empower us to maintain a renewed and godly mind. Our enemy has been defeated and we do not have to compare ourselves to others. God is good to us all and wants the best for us. We, as children of God, must have the mind of Christ. Stay free of stinking thinking and let us ponder how God thinks; and by so doing, act like His children.

Way Maker

 

 

Chanel Abrams , CBN Network

I was the happiest I’d ever been with the job I was doing. I was a recruiter turned training specialist at a telecom company. I had recently struck out on my own, getting my first apartment in my early 20s. I also served as the right hand to my pastor, with many responsibilities. One of them was to feed and clothe the homeless in the area.

One day the director of human resources called me in for a meeting. Surely, she was going to tell me about a new initiative that she wanted me to head, or report on the progress of the last one. But it was nothing of the kind—she told me that I was being laid off in July. When I heard the news, I was surprised but not worried about finding another job. I began looking for another job with no luck. I couldn’t understand how it was so difficult to find a job. I mean, it was my job to find jobs!

Then the 9/11 attacks happened. This made finding work even harder. I was collecting unemployment, which was barely enough to pay my rent. During this time, I continued to serve at my church faithfully. The same food pantry that I used to run to serve the homeless became the main source to sustain me.

Another expense was my car payment. It needed to be paid and I just didn’t have the money for it. As I sat down to open the mailing from car my loan company, I was expecting to see a notification of late payment or repossession. Instead, it read, “it has been determined that you are in the area considered to be effected by the events of 9/11 and your payments have been deferred to the end of your loan.”

This was one of the many ways God would provide for me (Isaiah 43:19). This experience allowed me to know the Lord as Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:13). I was never without anything for over a year without a job. I didn’t know how God was going to work things out for me, but I knew that He would—and He did! I trusted Him with my life, and He showed Himself strong and mighty (Proverbs 3:5-6).

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)

What Hurt the Most

 

 

Emmanuela Delsion – National Director – OB Haiti

February 2020 remains one of the hardest times in my life. I suffered physically, morally, and especially, spiritually. After a caesarean section in February 2020, I had complications. I was in very bad shape. Physically, I was very ill, experiencing extreme pain, swelling, and severe acute anemia. The pain was so terrible that I could not work or move by myself. I needed help to move from one side of the bed to the other and to use the restroom. I became dependent on others for everyday tasks. That dependency hurt me a lot. I always considered myself a strong person who always does her best to deal with life’s difficulties, and to find solutions. But during that time, even though I deeply wanted to be strong, I could not. I cried a lot. Not only because of the pain, but mainly because of my weakness. I depended on people for everything; I could not even carry my newborn, and that made me very sad.

But sadness was not the worst emotion that I felt. I was filled with anger. I was angry at God. I used to say that I was God’s favorite child, and I meant it. He had always been good to me despite my faults. He provided what I did not expect, protected me against danger, and He surrounded me with His grace. That is how God always blessed me—until February 2020. I got angry because of the trust that I put in Him, because of how I used to brag about my relationship with God. I felt betrayed by my awesome God who I completely trusted, and that hurt me more than my health status and the loss of my autonomy. I could not pray. I kept blaming God until the day my husband prayed with me. God used Him to talk to me through Psalm 34. Verse 19 says:

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. (NIV)

I can’t find the correct way to explain it, but that verse brought me peace and I started begging God to forgive me. I realized that my sickness did not mean that God stopped caring about me. I trusted that He still loved me and that He would heal me. My reconciliation with God was the best thing that happened to me! The doctors did their best, including two surgeries and plenty of medicines, but at the end of the day, none of them could explain how I was healed, and how I could walk again. My God who continued to protect and love me, healed me in His perfect timing. I was discharged on March 02, 2020, a few days before the COVID-19 lockdown.

Today I feel ashamed about how I behaved, but I believe it was a good lesson that I needed to share with others. Being loved by God does not mean that we will never face difficulties—for we are living in a world influenced by the devil—but rather that our Savior will always protect us. As it is stated in Proverbs 24:16:

For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

If you are going through a bad time, do not behave like I did, but instead, know that God loves you! He has everything under control and continues to protect you from even tragedies that you might never be aware of. Because God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!